Project Doomsday
by Mazz84
Summary: This is it! Eggman has finished his ultimate weapon, The Doomsday Machine. All he needs now, is a power source--The Black Leopard Diamond should do the trick. Crummy summary until I think of a better one. Please R and R if you want.
1. Chapter 1

**OK, I'm back and I'm here.**

**Disclaimer, Sonic is Sega's and that's that!**

**This tale is**_ loosely _**based on SatAM season 2 finale.**

**Don't like it, why the heck did you click on it for? Silly-billy!**

* * *

Project Doomsday.

Starring...

Sonic the Hedgehog.( Of course!)

Miles _' Tails ' _Prower.

Amy Rose Hedgehog.

Knuckles the Echidna.

Rouge the Bat.

Shadow the Hedgehog.

And, Doctor Ivo _' Eggman' _Robotnik.

Featuring...

Sir Charles _'Chuck' _Hedgehog.

Ignus, High Priest of the Moon Temple.

Carla the Android- Voice only.

Chapter 1. 

Along Route 401, a large convoy of tanker-trucks all bearing the legend-_ M Phillips, Eco Supplies_- trundled down the road at unbelievable speed. It was being closely chased by two motorbikes, one white and one black.

Rouge- dressed in dark purple biker-gear- gunned the bikes' engine to catch up. The second member of the team-- Shadow-- came alongside her,he too was in biker-gear, black with red flames up the arms and legs.

Behind them, a group of bird-like robots fired a round of bullets and missiles. Rouge grunted and veered hard left to avoid getting hit, Shadow pulled a fast 180 and sat up in his seat, he waited for the right moment and unleashed a powerful Chaos attack. The robots fizzed and crashed into each other in a dazzling display of fireworks, the black hedgehog smirked, pulled his bike around and raced off to catch Rouge.

Once at her side, he nodded, " That's the guards taken care of. Give them the call."

The bat nodded and switched on the radio in her helmet, " You're all clear, sugars."

" _Roger. Gang-way 'cause I'm coming through ! _"

The two agents slowed their bikes to a stop and waited for the third and fourth members of the group. They didn't have to wait long, a fierce wind suddenly picked up, a fair way down the highway that they'd just travelled, a large dust cloud came racing along. As it passed, Rouge yelped and grabbed onto her bikes' handle-bars to stop herself from being blown away, Shadow grunted and stood his ground as a very fast blue, blur edged with pink shot by.

Rouge took of her helmet once the coast was clear and shook out her short hair. She grinned and waved, shouting, " Good luck, guys!" The ball of speed hurried after the convoy and was soon lost. She turned to Shadow, who was already revving up his engine. " We better head back to Base and report to Uncle Chuck. Don't look so worried," She added when Shadow looked down the road and gripped his handle-bars with white knuckles. " I'm sure his nephew can handle it."

" I'm not worried about Sonic."

" Huh? Don't worry, Amy's pretty tough too." She put back on her helmet and revved up her own engine. " C'mon, I'll race you back. Loser does washing up."

Shadow grinned and flipped down his visor, " Terms agreed. Ready? _GO_!"

Rouge watched him go, she smiled, kicked the bike into gear and hurried after him, tearing up the motorway behind them.

Up ahead, quickly catching up the row of trucks, red sneakers pounded on the tarmac, two sets of green eyes were glued to the back of the last lorry. Sonic the Hedgehog and Amy Rose chased the vehicles, hoping to reach them before they reached their destination- Eggman's new home, which he'd named Eggtopia. ( **Eggs** **on the brain. Much ?)**

"Sonic...Faster !!"

Sonic grunted, " I'm going as fast as I--"

" Sonic, look out!"

The blue dude with the 'tude, had just enough time to shout and cover his face with his hands as they crashed into a workman's barrier. Now they were_ above _the convoy. Amy whimpered and clutched at Sonic's shoulders harder.

" What's with this road? It's all wonky.."

She gasped suddenly, " Sonic, you have to stop. Right now !"

" Urm..Why?"

" This is Route _402_ and it's not completed yet."

" So? That means what?"

Amy pointed over his shoulder ahead of them, " NO ROAD !?" She screamed over the rushing winds._  
_

The two hedgehogs screamed as a vast drop came hurtling into view. Sonic grunted and slammed on the breaks, the undersides of his trainers grew white-hot, but then he had a really crazy idea.

" Amy ! Grab the power-ring!"

"What!? Are you insane?"

" Just do it. Now!"

She struggled to open the bag he was wearing, but managed to get hold of the golden band at the bottom. With shaky fingers, she pressed it into Sonic's waiting palm. Sonic tightened his grip and the ring glowed to life.

" Hold on, Amez, we're gonna rocket!"

Amy looped her arms around his neck, buried her face against his shoulder and held on for dear was lifted into the air by the sheer power of the ring's energy, his feet turned super blurry and formed a perfect figure of eight under him. The air crackled around them and then exploded with an almighty Sonic-Boom, Sonic was propelled along the road leaving behind Amy's petrified shriek, " _Whoaa--ahhh-hhaa_! "

Soon, they left the highway, breaking though another barrier and found themselves soring up and beyond. Their target was right under them and coming in close, a little too close. Sonic acted quickly, he undid Amy's arms from his neck and her legs around his middle, and threw her ahead of him. Once she was out of harms' way, he curled up into a ball and pushed the rings' power to it's limit. He whooshed in an arch of blue and skidded along the roof of the last truck, his foot caught a stray wire and set him tumbling towards the edge. Using his arms to slow himself, he managed to get his balance and saved himself from becoming a Sonic pancake. At hearing a high-pitched squeal above him, he spun and caught a very green looking Amy.

" You..OK?"

Amy pushed her short ponytail from her face, " Uuuggghhhh... I think I'm gonna lose my lunch..." Sonic set her down onto her feet and held her arm while she took deep breaths.

" You'll be fine in a few. Now, lets blow the top off this thing."

" Can't." Said Amy, shaking her head.

" Why the fig not?"

The pink hedgehog folded her arms, " We're suppose to _sneak _into Eggman's base,right?" Sonic nodded," Well..think about it. Don't you think the Mechs will become suspicious if one of the trucks arrived with its back blow off? A huge search will happen and we'll have no chance of sneaking in, and it'll be all _your_ fault!"

Sonic chewed on this for a second, before nodding again, " I guess you're right."

" Thank-you. One to me, I believe. Now.." She pushed back the sleeve of her red track-suit to reveal her com-link, pushing a button, she brought up the van's blue-prints. " According to Uncle Chuck, all these lorries are on Auto-Pilot. If I can pick the lock, we can hide in here--" Small square lit up on the diagram, " -in the over-head compartment."

"Uh..Won't it be a tight fit?"

She smiled, reaching into his pack for one of the many gizmo's Tails had supplied them with." C'mon , Sonic...Is snuggling up to me really _that_ bad?" The lock pinged open and she crawled inside with a wink.

Sonic followed shortly afterwards, carefully closing the hatch behind him with a slight grin on his face.

--

**Inside Eggtopia...**

Dr Eggman sat in his chair, watching the many screens that lined the walls. He flicked a switch and on one of them, appeared the face of a skinny man with rat-like features and oiled back hair.

" Ah! Mr Phillips, good evening to you!"

"_Dr Eggman. I hope you are well _?"

" As well as can be expected, and now that the final shipment has arrived," A nearby monitor showed the convoy at the gates, he pressed a button to allow it through," I can begin testing that delightful toxic cocktail you made for me. This planet doesn't stand a chance!"

_" Glad to hear it. I also have good news, using the first scroll, I have located the chamber of the second .It's somewhere in the White Jungle, with the team of Egg-bots you loaned me, I should have it in a matter of hours." _

" Ooh, brilliant! With the Diamond in my hand to power my latest invention, not even that blue pin-cushion, Sonic, can stop me!" He chuckled madly.

_" You mean _us, _right, Doc? Don't forget my share in the deal."_

" Of course not, old boy. You'll get what's coming to you." He disconnected the call and the screen went dark. Eggman turned to another screen, this one was of a large, circular platform. Egg-bots were hanging from the ceiling by cables, adjusting the big ,glass tube that would descend and trap who- ever was under it. In short--A new Robotizer, one that gave the victim _no_ hope of _ever_turning back to flesh and blood, and make them 100 percent loyal to him. Eggman grinned dangerously, " Don't worry ,old boy..You'll get _exactly_ what's coming to you.."

If any of the Worker-bots had bothered to check the vans, before unloading the green ooze into the holding vats, they would've noticed an open hatch in the thirds' cab.

Sonic and Amy took to the shadows and made their way to the main control room, it wasn't long before they found themselves in front of a big steel door. Amy whipped out the lock-picking do-dad again and made quick work of the double bolt. They darted inside, just missing a couple of Mechs doing their rounds.

Amy made her way to the gaint console in the center of the was having a good nose around, he shrugged and hopped onto a nearby table. Reaching into his bag, he tossed Amy a blank computer disc and sat back while she got to work.

Sonic checked his watch, " We've got 20 minutes before the guards come in yet?"

She frowned at him, " I'm not Tails, Sonic. I'm doing the best I can, just do me a favour, eh? Don't touch anything."

"OK, OK...Geez!" He jumped into the chair next to her and tapped his fingers as impatience kicked in. His fingers slipped and hit a nice star-shaped button, he knew he was in trouble when the secondary door slid home and bolted shut, and Amy turned to him with a very ticked off look," Uh..Whoops?"

" Now look what you've done! We're trapped!"

And they were. Big time.

* * *

**Next Chapter is up!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 up!**

**Might be a little slow getting to good bits, but trust me, it'll be worth the wait.**

Chapter 2.

**Mystic Ruins, Tails' workshop...**

Sonic's Uncle Chuck sat at his computer terminal, he checked his watch for the tenth time in so many minutes. He clicked on his in-coming E-Mails. Nothing. Chewing the inside of his cheek, he sat back in his chair and tapped a pencil on the top of the table._C'mon, Sonny-boy.._

A distraction came in the form of Tails. The little cub was wearing his work goggles and carrying a large amount of wires in all sorts of colours . Before Chuck could ask, Tails darted under his work station next to his and quickly got to work connecting the wires to the mother-board. Tails popped up five minutes later, hopped into his chair and clacked the keyboard keys with skills of a pro. After checking the screen, Tails ripped off the glasses, put on his head-set and waved at the fuzzy picture of Knuckles as he came into view.

" It's all done, Knuckles. your com-link is now up-graded."

Knuckles pushed up the brim of his hat and grinned. "_ Nice job, kid_."

" Thanks! Um..How are things your end?"

" _Apart from freezing my arse off in the cargo-hold? Pretty good. I haven't been found out yet. Which is fine by me. Just heard from the pilot that White Haven-the resort near White Jungle- is only a few hours away_."

" Keep your voice down!" Tails hissed.

" _It's cool_." Knuckles hissed back," _I'll check in with you once we've landed, and are you sure this new up-grade will come in handy_?"

Tails nodded, " I'm sure." He disconnected the line, sat back in his chair with a grin," Don't be a worry-wart,Knuckles,_ she _will be.."

Chuck's computer binged, "_ You have E-Mail_."

" ' Bout time, Sonny." He grabbed the pencil and a pad of paper," Now, lets see what we have here.." He clicked opened the file, scrolled down it a bit, then frowned, " Hm..."

" Something wrong, Chuck?"

Chuck tapped his chin with the pencil tip, " Get hold of Rouge and Shadow, Miles. Tell them there's a meeting here in the morning,about eleven o'clock. Sonic and Amy will need their rest before I spring this on them."

Tails was already clicking on his keys, " It's very bad, isn't it?"

He closed his eyes, " According to these files,yes it is." He tapped his own keys, sending an E-Mail back. " From their message, they've run into some kind of trouble. I'm providing them with an escape route, that should lead them to the city limits, _**and**_, allow Sonic to do his other small mission." He hit _enter_, " ."

" I hope they get it in time."

" So do I."

--

**Eggtopia...**

Sonic stepped in front of Amy,shielding her from the in-coming Mechs who were pounding on the other side of the steel door. The alarms had stopped only a few seconds ago, which was bad, and meant Eggman knew someone was inside his Base. The console behind them pinged as Chuck's message arrived.

" You expecting an E-Mail?" Sonic looked over his shoulder at her. Amy shook her head, bemused. Sonic had a closer look at the address. " Amy... It's from Unc!"

"Huh? Chuck? Quick, what's it say?"

Sonic cracked his fingers and hit the keys, " Message reads: _E-Mail with Robotnik's daily ops arrived safely. Tell Amy there's no A in Rodent. Programme on_ blank _disc is a virus, use to disable all security in Base. To escape, use air-vent on right side to take you to second target and home. Cxx._ That's all of it." He chuckled and turned to Amy, " You spelt rodent with an A?"

She stood there, counting the amount of letters in the word. She then blinked and blushed at the same time," I was in a rush! Don't you dare laugh!"

" No. Now's not the time for funnies. We need a plan," He looked around the room again and his eyes fell on the console. A big grin appeared on his face. " I got it!"

" You..Have?"

With a confident nod, Sonic jumped onto the terminal and pulled her up alongside him," How are your keyboard skills?" He asked.

" Not more files! Please, Sonic, I'll do anything. Just don't ask this of me, I'm rubbish!"

He groaned," Just follow my lead, OK? We'll up-load this sucker of a virus and scramble Eggman's main computer at the same time. Ready?"

" Nope."

With a grin, Sonic started hitting as many of the keys as he could. Amy shrugged next to him and followed suit,Sonic pushed the _enter_ key to up-load the virus and then, to Amy's amazement..He started singing!!

_" You put the petal to the metal_

_and baby I guarantee._

_You'll be juicin', to the tenth decree."_

Amy giggled and went," Oh, yeah!"

_" Crank it to Super-Sonic,_

_you don't need any fuel._

_'Cause the rocket's in my pocket,_

_and I'm way-hey-HEY_

_Past cool!"_

He grabbed her hand and together they jumped, just before the virus took effect and cause the console to blow ducked behind him and peeked out of his quills as it fizzed and sparked.

" Whoa...What was on that disc?"

" I have no idea. Who knew we could make such good music together.." He stopped suddenly, going a nice pink. " Um.. That came out wrong.." Amy smiled as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly." Uh..." He cringed as loud bangs and thumps sounded from outside. " The Mechs are down, the virus worked. C'mon, let's get outta here!" He grabbed the grill of the right air-vent and, grunting, pulled it open, " Ladies first."

She pecked him on the cheek, before climbing inside the small space. Sonic followed shortly afterwards, closing the grill behind them. They followed the twisting section of vent until they came to a part that smelt of rotting eggs . Amy put her hand over her mouth to stop her gagging and giving away their position, Sonic however, crawled to the grill and smiled. Reaching into the side pocket of his bag, he placed a tiny metal spider on the vent wall. He winked at Amy, who frowned.

" It's a bug." He quietly explained," This pipe runs right next to Lard-bellys' office. Unc is a genius! We'll be able to find out what he's up to and Eggman will be none the wiser. Cool, huh?"

" Oh, yeah," She said dryly, "Way past cool. Now, can we go? The smell is killing me." She coughed and waved a hand past her nose.

Sonic sniffed, then gagged," Yeah..We go home now. I think Eggman's just farted." He copied her, waving his hand. " Dude, he's lethal. _Oh man_, he stinks!" He pushed her along the tunnel," Let's get outta here!"

It seemed like hours had past when Sonic kicked open a grill and jumped onto grass. He was dirty, covered in grime and other things to horrible to describe. After checking the coast was clear, he helped Amy to her feet, who was just as dirty and quickly made a face.

" Phew-wee! You stink!"

She stabbed his chest, hard, " So do you! Ugh, I need a bath."

His ears pricked up," A bath? With extra bubbles?" He put his hands together, "Please! Please with extra bubbles. _Please _!"

" You're like a big kid. Oh, alright then. Extra bubbles." Sonic grinned and clapped his hands, " But..it depends how long it takes you to get home, take too long, no bubbles and you have to have a shower all on your lonesome." She gave him a teasing smile." How quick are you, Sonic?"

For her answer, Sonic grinned, scooped her up bridal style and revved up. " You haven't seen anything yet." With-out warning, he shot off down the dirt path at super-sonic speed, leaving a giant dust cloud in his wake and Amy's delightful giggles.

--

**Inside Main Lab...**

The engines powered up to full a series of whirls and clicks, a large object rose and hovered in the air. It looked like a flying saucer, lights on its under-belly flickered in all the primary colours.

It floated to the only other thing in the room-- a large cluster of trees and bushes. It bleeped loudly and a hose-like cannon lowered from a hidden compartment. The cannon fired an intense beam of green energy and turned the mass of foliage into what could only be described as guacamole.

In the control room, Eggman sat back in his chair and clapped his hands with glee. " A perfect test-run! Just perfect!" He laughed madly watching another screen, where a monster of a tower was being constructed. " If only that pest of a rodent knew what was in store for him." He smiled, he really liked having a good day. " _Oh_.. Life is good!"

* * *

**Sonic's song is from Sat-AM, not sure what episode though.**

**Please R and R. Pretty please...**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

**Air-space over White Jungle ( The night before...)**

" _This is flight Alpha 605-Westopolis to White Haven, requesting permission to land. Over_."

"_Alpha 605, we have you on radar, you have a green for a final approach. The weather's good, have a safe landing. Watch Tower out._"

The Jumbo-jet flew over the grey canopy of White Jungle. The pilot lowered the wheels in preparation for his final approach. As the tires descended,a small figure stood on the supports.

Knuckles tightened the straps of his pack and pulled the brim of his favourite hat firmly onto his head. He waited for the right moment and jumped backwards. Using his powerful arms and skill, he glided down into the mist and vanished from view. Calmly he weaved in and out of the trees, landing perfectly on an out-stretched branch. Once checking the coast was clear, he jumped down to the dirt path below, and nearly had a heart attack when his com-link went off.

" He-Hello...?"

A soft, child- like voice came through, " _Finally! Don't you ever check your voice mail? I've left you about five messages in the last hour!"_

"Caz? What the heck are you doing here?"

She giggled," _I'm here to help, Uncle Knuckles! I'm the up-grade Daddy sent through. My body might still be in bits, but my mind isn't. I'm your personal SAT-NAV._"

" O...K... I'll bite. What are we looking for, Caz?"

" _Just head North. There's only one structure in the White Jungle--The Moon Temple, where--if I remember correctly--a great treasure is meant to be hidden. And I don't think it's a Chaos Emerald, which makes me uneasy_."

He started walking in the suggested direction." You're an Android, Caz. You're not meant to have feelings...I thought you shut yourself down because of your feelings towards Sonic."

A sigh," _I did and you're a cruel git, you know that? But not the point, the point..Is that I'm the only one of our group that's been inside the Temple, so I know all its booby-traps and secret passages...And--Whoa!!_ "

" What's the matter?"

"_Lift your arm again, yeah like that..Huh, this is weird..I'm getting a on...I got it! Is there a stone nearby_?"

" Yeah, a big arrow shaped one, with lots of little picture-graphs on it. Can you read this?" He held his arm up higher. " Caz?"

" _Look, I'm new at this, OK? Give me a sec...Ooh,listen to this! Message reads:__** Once when the sky was dark and the eye was full, a fire came from the heavens and fell to the ground. An old man, who was wise, braved the fires and found a black stone cooling. He picked up the gemstone and took it back to his village...**__ Hang on, I know this story."_

"You...Do ?"

"_Yeah. The man in the tale is Ignus...My Master... The High Priest of the Moon Temple, years ago he found the gemstone which he named _The Black Leopard _and hid it in the bowels of the Temple. Eggman attack us a few years back ,remember? I thought he was after me, but he must have been after the gem! This is bad! _"

" Do you remember anything else?"

" _A part from the fact that Ignus split the gem into two and ordered his monks to bury the parts at opposite ends of the world, and to find them you have to find scrolls and go on a very long goose chase ? No. Not really_."

" I hate you, you know that right? "

If Carla could smile, she would have. " _Bet you're glad you're missing the big meeting, huh_?"

He grinned, " Oh, yeah! Half the time, I can't understand what's been said. I just go along for the slide-shows."

" _A secret between you and me, Knuckles. So did I._ "

Knuckles chuckled and continued heading North, letting the first rays of the sun warm his skin.

--

**Mystic Ruins-- Tails' Workshop..**

The top layer of the house ,that stood on the mountains' top was just for the public eye. Deep under it's surface was a different story...

Sir Charles Hedgehog strolled along one of the many corridors of the lower levels. He past the Lab, the hanger and the Med Center on his way to the living quarters.

He stopped outside a grey door, on it was a small wooden ring painted gold and the words- _Sonic's Room,Keep Out ! _He shook his head,tapped twice and peeked inside. Chuck braved two steps in when he noticed something wrong, Sonic's bed was made and the curtains were open, he could just make out the vast sea and the sea-gulls through the tiny port-hole.

Closing the door,Chuck walked further down the corridor to another grey one had a little pink heart on it and the words- _Amy's Room_. Again he knocked twice, then poked his head in.

" I don't like the look of this," He murmured to himself, finding Amy's room just like Sonic's. He hurried back along the passageway until a strange sound reached his ears. It was coming from the R and R room, as Tails had dubbed it, he tipped-toed closer and snuck his head through the open door, and smiled softly. " There you are..."

The TV was on and mutely showing kiddie cartoons, the lights danced and flickered over Sonic's sleeping blue hedgehog was squashed between the arms of the battered couch, lightly snoring ( which was the strange sound Chuck heard.) and a thick blanket draped over him.

Chuck edged closer and perched on the coffee table in the room, where Sonic had left a glass of water. Tilting his head, he was surprised when the blanket _moved _and a small pink head poked out to nuzzle against the top of Sonic's tanned chest._ I'm not having of this under this roof. _Grabbing the glass, he held it above his nephew's head and tilted it slightly.

Sonic stirred in his sleep, without cracking an eye open, he said, " You do and I'm gonna crown ya." Peeking up, he blinked." Huh? Oh, Uncle Chuck. Hey."

Chuck placed the glass back onto the table. " I see you didn't make it to your beds last night, hm?"

Sonic yawned and rubbed sleep from his eyes,"Nah. Stayed up to watch--Hang on, _your beds_? I don't...Ugh, why can't I move?" He looked down and a gentle smile graced his lips."Aw, she's so cute when she's asleep." Amy murmured in her sleep and huddled closer to him, causing him to blush alarming fast and Chuck to raise his grey brows. "Um..A moment?"

"OK. But I want the two of you washed and dressed in 20 minutes, Sonny. Our guest will be here soon and they don't like being kept waiting." He left the room, closing the door behind him with a giggle,"Ah..Kids.."

--

When Sonic and Amy were finally washed and dressed, they hurried to the top floor of the workshop, and quickly noticed the tense atmosphere. Chuck and Tails were over at the computers, bent over some blue-prints of some kind. Sonic joined his Uncle and Tails,Amy took a seat next to one of the two that were already there and dusted down the front of her shirt. She looked over a black shoulder, met ruby orbs and grinned, and got a shy one in return. There came a knocking on the wooden surface and Shadow turned his attention back to Rouge.

The white bat, dressed in a revealing black crop-top, matching hot-pants and boots, nibbled on her bottom lip before saying, " I need a nine." She pulled up the ends of her elbow-length gloves and smirked." You got any?"

Shadow lifted his eyes from his own cards and replied, " Go fish." Rouge sighed and tossed another paperclip into the kitty. He rubbed his muzzle, letting his eyes wonder down her torso, her bare stomach. " I need a two. Nice six-pack by the way."

She stuck her tongue out at him," Thank-you, pervert. Oh, and by the way," she grinned," Go fish." Shadow groaned and added his paperclip. " Got any fives?"

Uncle Chuck hammered on the table,making them all jump. " Take your seats, , we're here for one purpose only--To stop Eggman and whatever hare-brain plan he's come up with this time."

" I hear that!" Said Sonic, around a mouthful of chilli-dog. Amy shot him a look, he swallowed. " Sorry."

" According to the files that Sonic and Amy stole last night,Eggman is building a large tower in the named--The Doomsday Machine." Chuck clicked the top of a pen-like device, behind him a screen flickered to life, the blue-print of said tower came into view. Sonic gagged and spat out his dog, Tails and Amy blinked at the sheer size of it and paled. Rouge worried her bottom lip and Shadow just folded his arms.

" I don't understand how he could," Rouge tapped her chin," He was in the nick for ages. How could he come up with this in such a small amount of time?"

Chuck clicked the top of a pen-like device again, this time the screen showed a picture of a rat-faced man. "Eggman has friends everywhere, as long as they expect a piece of the action. Now, this man here is Matt Phillips, A.K.A..."

" Mephiles..." Shadow frowned at the screen." A treasure hunter with a taste for mystical gemstones, like the Chaos Emeralds. He's also into _cleaning the environment_, and I doubt what was in those tankers last night was Earth friendly."

"You're right there, the stuff in those tankers is highly toxic, capable of destroying everything in sight. Now, I've sent Knuckles on a recon mission to The White Jungle, where Phillips is rumoured to be digging around for Eggman. I just don't know where." The computer bleeped, " Speak of the devil. Knuckles? You there?"

Static, then Carla spoke," _This is Caz on a scrambler line. We made our way North and found the remains of the dig-site, Chuck, but Phillips had already scarpered with what he was sent to find .Using what clues he hadn't destroyed... We found the secret room where the second scroll was housed and a lot of picture-graphs. Now from my memory banks, the second scroll mentions something about a_ Festival of the Sun _and a _Flame of Hope._Where ever this place is, it's home to the first half of _The Black Leopard_. We have to get it before Eggman does."_

"OK, Carla. You did your best, I'm proud of both of you. Tell Knuckles to stand by, I'm sending Shadow over with some fake Chaos Emeralds," He lifted his turquoise eyes, Shadow was sitting up and listening." Use the gems and teleport to the City of Soleanna. We'll meet up there." The black hedgehog nodded and descended down to the lower levels at once.

" _Right-o. Carla out_."

Chuck rubbed the back of his neck and sat down. "What's happening is mirroring what happen on my home world. Long story short...Sonic isn't the only one to have a brain scan done by the Doctor...This_ Black Leopard Diamond_ is this world's _Deep Power Stones_, that can be used as a source of limitless energy, or great destruction. If Eggman gets both halves, he'll have the power for his Doomsday Machine, and then..." He drew a line under his throat.

"We have to stop him!" Cried Amy. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Oh, we will, Amy." Chuck gave them all a confident grin." Because...As a friend of mine would say... I have a plan."

* * *

**What's the plan? Find out soon!**

**Thanks Sara for your review, I really appreciate it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 up!!**

Chapter 4. 

Uncle Chuck's plan was as feather-brained as you could get. Once he had told them what he had in mind,Sonic had disappeared for hours. It wasn't all bad, as it gave Chuck and Tails time to finish Tails' newest plane--_The Hyper Tornado._A souped-up, silver version of the original. Amy and Rouge were left to work together on the groups diguises.

**City of Soleanna.**

A blur of colour shot over the red-tiled rooftops of Castle Town, one of Soleanna's capitals. Sonic came to a stop over-looking a vast metal structure, the top was shaped like a big bowl, similar to the ones used to hold the Olympic flames on TV. He "_Hmed_." Held up a paintbrush,and tried to figured out the best way to draw it.

The Clock Tower chimed the hour. Sonic pushed back his billowing sleeve and checked his watch. He groaned and quickly picked up his equipment. Peering into the streets below to check the coast was clear, he spotted a small red-cladded figure and smiled.

Jumping off the roof, he landed inches away from Amy, who, at the moment of bumping into him, squealed and fell backwards, her own paint supplies scattering over the pebbled road.

"You gotta watch where you're going , Amy." He bent over to help her up. "This place is dangerous."

Amy huffed her fringe from her eyes with a scowl. " It is when mad hedgehogs fall from the sky. Don't you get it? If you start acting like **Sonic the Hedgehog**, you'll blow it for all of us!" She straighten out her beret with a sigh. " OK, let's find the others." She picked up her paints ,pad and stand.

Sonic followed, shaking his own beret-covered head, "This is so dumb!" His hissed through clenched teeth as the two of them past the crowds.

"Quit complaining! You know what the Royal Council said, we're allowed to stay in the city undercover by day, and at night have free run of it and the other two capitals to search for the first half of _The Leopard_ and the final scroll leading to the second half." She craned her head, trying to spot the rest of the group. She caught a flutter of the palest yellow and grinned. "Tails!"

The fox waved at them, a pencil stuck behind his ear. Like everyone else , he was dressed in a mackintosh. But while Amy's was clean and spotless, Tails' was the opposite, the front of his was covered in paint splats and ink spots.

" Hey, guys! You ready for another day of undercover work?"

"You bet!" Amy set up next to him and flicked her pad to a fresh page, she took out her pencil and started drawing the flowers in front of her, " There's something therapeutic about art." She sighed.

" It allows you to express yourself, with out feeling embarrassed." Came a clam voice from the other side of Tails. Shadow, dressed in grey, stepped back to admire his work.

" Well, I feel like an idiot." He moved to set up next to Shadow, passing Tails, he blinked and whistled. " She's a babe! Who is she?"

Tails took a second to look at him, then pointed to the newspaper cutting he'd pinned to the top corner of his pad. " You don't know who this is?" Sonic shook his head. The cub sighed and bent to mix up some light brown for the girls' hair. " This is Princess Elise the Third, current ruler of Soleanna."

Sonic went "_Ooh_." Nodded and patted his shoulder, " Good likeness,buddy." Standing next to Shadow, Sonic flipped his pad to an on-going drawing he'd started when they'd first arrived--about 8 days ago, and sharpened his pencil. Shadow looked over his shoulder and frowned as he tried to make sense of it. " What ?" He asked.

"_What_ is that?"

"What's it look like, Sherlock? It's a wolf."

" I can see it's a wolf. What I can't figure out, is why it looks like you."

Sonic shivered. " I've been having prospective dreams again. I'm running down a hallway and I hear loud growling. I enter a room where only a big mirror stands, as I approach, my reflection warps and I become _him_, " He added more tuffs to the wolfs' fur. " I stand there, glued to the spot as.... _Were-hog _me reaches out of the mirror and grabs me. I scream, and then I wake up."

" Have you told Knuckles about this? "

Sonic shook his head, " He hasn't been around long enough for me to. Now that you've mentioned it, where is Knuckles anyway?"

Amy smiled, " He and Rouge went to the old castle...In Kingdom Valley. Carla found some more of those picture-graphs on the walls and thinks the gem is nearby."

"Not a moment too soon, if you ask me. " Said Tails, cleaning out his brushes. " Ever since we found out Eggman destroyed Uncle Chuck's bug, I've been worried he could use it to track us here, as all our equipment carries the same frequency...." He stopped as everyone else looked at him with bemused expressions. He grinned sheepishly, "Ah, sorry guys. Got a bit geeky there."

Sonic's com-link went off, the hedgehog frowned and quickly read the in-coming message. His frown deepened. " Guess who's just shown up?"

----------------------------------------

**Ruined Castle--Kingdom Valley**

Knuckles dived behind a pile of rubble, Rouge hid behind a nearby pillar, clutching to her chest a cloth pouch, containing the first part of _The Leopard _and the final scroll. She screamed as the post beside her exploded into dust.

The good news was that they had found the gem, the bad news was that they were now under attack from none other, then Eggman himself. The Doctor, in a brand-new _Egg-o-Matic _hovered above them, next to him, hovered a weird-looking UFO.

" You can't hide from me, my Death Pod will find you and fry you to a crisp."

The Guardian crawled over to Rouge's side while the Doc was in mid- rant," Plan?"

"Uh, I don't have one." She took a second to peek into the bag, she smiled. " Oh my ! So mysterious, those little white fleck in the darkness...."

" Rouge! We're trapped here! Think of something!"

" _If I might interrupt_," Said Carla, causing them to both jump. " _I think the best course of action, is to give him what he wants_."

" Have you blow a circuit or something!? This the first half of the gem and the means to find to second. If we give this to Egg-face, he's won!" The bat yelped as a laser narrowly missed her arm and dissolved the rest of the pillar beside her to mush." Oh, that's it! Nobody messes with my wardrobe!" She buried the items under the rubble and dusted down the front of her halter-neck style bodysuit. " You coming?"

A grin back, "Try and stop me." He ran over to a handy pile of small boulders and flexed his muscles. " Try and find a weak spot on the top, I'll distract it."

" OK, Knucky!" She called back, taking flight and heading towards the Pod. Below, Knuckles provided numerous targets for the Pods' lasers by throwing the stones, darting for cover when the fire-power got too much. Rouge managed to land safely on its' smooth surface and uncapped the small pouches on her belt. She planted the bombs on a brightly lit area, which she assumed to be the control panel. " There you go, sweetie!" She jumped off and landed next to Knuckles, ready to finish the job.

In the midst of the chaos, Dr Eggman sat calmly in his seat. His dark glasses glinted in the suns' rays, a smug smile grace his lips as a group of Egg-bots closed in on the two treasure hunters and Mephiles hurried forward, then hurried out again.

" Time to say good-bye! " Eggman held up a remote and pressed a button. The Pod hummed and lowered its primary weapon, taking aim at Knuckles and Rouge. The treasure hunters stood back to back, ready to fight their way out.

A fierce wind howled into the deserted building . A comet of blue shot by, unleashing serious homing attacks on the Egg-bots. It journeyed up a broken pillar and sawed its way through the under-side of the Pod, destroying the laser-gun in the process. Rouge, seeing the way clear, flicked the switch and the Pods' control-board exploded in a series of brightly-coloured sparkles. The whole thing shook violently, giving off a high-pitched whine. It veered out of control and crashed landed into the moat of the Castle with a tidal-wave of a splash, that showered them.

Eggman groaned with disappointment as the blur slowed in front of his friends. " Sonic..."

The hedgehog grinned," Hey, Lard-belly! Ooh..." He walked over to the edge of the platform and peered into the moat, at the ruined Pod and pouted. " Aw, did you break your new toy?"

" That was only the prototype, rodent. Now I know what its weakness is, I can improve the thousands I have ready to roll out from my Doomsday Machine, and not even you, with your buzz-saw trickery, can stop them." The Doctor giggled madly, put his _Egg-o-Matic _into Hyper-Drive and floated away into the distance. " Catch me if you can, Sonic! Hoo-Hoo-_Hooo_!"

" Argh, that rotten egg!" Sonic kicked a pebble with frustration. He sighed and walked over to where Knuckles was digging frantically at the ground, Rouge looking over his shoulders. " What's up?"

Knuckles gave a short yell and pulled at his dreadlocks. " The gem's not here! The attack was a diversion. Eggman's got the first half of the stone and the final scroll, we've had it!"

"_If I may_," Carla's voice startled all of them, " _he's better off with it, Uncle Knuckles_."

"Definitely blown a circuit." Muttered the bat to Sonic, who raised his brows. " She said that before we were ambushed."

" _I did, and before we were attacked, I had already scanned the second scrolls' text. Eggman is better off with the fake clue---_"

"Hang on." Said Sonic, raising a hand. " Did you say _**fake**_?"

" _I did. You see, my Master came to Soleanna in the hope that he would find information on _The Leopard _in the Royal Library. During that time,The Duke and Ignus became good friends. In one of his searches, Ignus came across the dark secret of the Sun God that Soleanna worships. The Duke found out and promised Ignus, that if he didn't reveal to the world the truth of Solaris,he would hide half the gem in the city and provide a fake clue to send whoever was searching,_"She giggled, " _On a wild goose chase to the most deserted place on the planet ! _"

Sonic grinned, "Bloody brilliant! So, where's the real gem?"

-----------------------------------------------

After relaying what Carla had told them, Sonic, Knuckles and Rouge joined the others in the biggest Library any of them had seen. The group split up and began searching the thousands of dusty volumes.

On one of the upper-walkways, Sonic and Tails looked in a section about gemstones. Sonic threw down his book with a grunt and started counting the golden arches the sun made as it set on the wall opposite. He frowned ,finding one missing in the center and looked up, he got up from his seat and tracked the missing arch, finding it hidden behind a tattered cloth.

"Yo, Tails! Look at this," His foxy pal hurried to his side and he pointed upward, " What do you think?"

Tails shrugged, " I think I can reach it. Watch my back." The fox started climbing, finding make-shift foot and hand holds between the books. He reached the cloth in no time at all and tugged on it hard. " It's loose! Watch out, Sonic!!"

Sonic looked up, "Whoa... ARGH!!" He vanished under the smelly sheet, "Get it off! Get it off !"

Tails laughed and floated down to land at his side, he tugged the sheet off and dusted the hedgehog down. " OK, now what?"

Sonic was looking at the revealed window, reading the reflection." Gimme a com-link." Tails handed him the device and he strapped it on." Carla, open all channels and scan this writing."

" _OK, Blue-streak, my man_." She bleeped," _This is _really_ old text, but..Text reads: **Under the sun where the leopard sleeps. Here is where you'll find what you seek.**_"

Shadow's voice came through, " _**Not to sound like a dumb-arse, but what the hell does that mean? **_"

"_Along the walls of this very room are pictures of the sun and various subjects_. _I believe...If you find the painting of a leopard resting under the Sun, you will find the stone_."

" Did you guys get that?"

" _**We got it ! **_" Came the reply from the others. There came a mast of shuffling and squeaking as the gang searched the walls of the Library. Soon Amy's voice rang out without the use of the com-link.

" I found it! I found it!"

The group gathered around her. On the wall was a grand painting of a black leopard with white spots, fast asleep on a flat rock under the Sun. Chuck stepped forward, put on his half-moon shaped glasses and peered at the bottom left corner. He held up Carla to scan the signature, he smiled when she beeped to confirm it as the real thing.

He took a deep breath and ran his fingers between painting and wall. Finding the smallest of gaps, he dug his nails in and pulled with all his might, grunting with effort. Shadow gave him a hand, and together, they managed to swing the painting out. The gang peered into the darkness, in its depths came a glint. Chuck reached in and pulled out the black gem, he held it about his head and whooped.

They all took turns holding it, it was about half the size of a Chaos Emerald, black in colour with odd white flecks embedded within. Knuckles turned it over in his hand and frowned.

" We should destroy it."

Sonic rubbed his chin, " I dunno, Knuxs. I know it's dangerous because it's got great power, but maybe we can use it against Eggman and his Doomsday Machine." He turned to his Uncle," Well, what now?"

Chuck looked at all of them seriously, " Now, we plan_** big**_. This Doomsday Machine isn't gonna be easy to take down, and I should know. We need to go over the blue-prints and try to find any weaknesses. This is serious, Sonny, and not all of us might walk away from it. Are you sure about going through with this?"

" I am ,Unc. Eggman's gone too far this time. He's going down, right ? " He looked at them, and they smiled, half-smiled or simply nodded in understanding. Sonic winked at his friends, " OK... Playtime is now over. Let's do it, to it!"

"Yeah!" They all shouted.

**Next chapter might be late. Computer trouble.**

**Didn't mean for it to be long, and sorry about any mistakes.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Don't own Sonic or other SEGA characters.**

_**Love Don't Roam **_**by Murray Gold from Dr Who soundtrack. ( I wanted to use it in this chapter, but I think I mucked it up.)**

**Enjoy! (And sorry for any mistakes.)**

* * *

Chapter 5. 

The finding of half _The Leopard _in Soleanna had raised their spirits when they packed up and headed back to Mystic Ruins. Once there though, Chuck ,again, told them that the next few days were going to be their toughest. Hacking into Eggman's main computer at his Base, via Carla, the gang found that the Doctor's goose chase would be about five days, ( Two getting there, one digging around and two to get back.)

On the second day, Chuck had gathered them around the big table in the meeting room and advised them to go out and enjoy themselves, fearing what the out-come of the battle might be.

Sonic had wasted no time at all. The blue hedgehog grabbed Amy by the arm and whisked her away to the lower levels of the workshop. He said he had a top secret plan and needed Amy's artistic skills to pull it off. They spent most of the day in the paint-shop, until sleep claimed Amy, causing her to fall asleep face-first in some black paint. With his special delivery all finished , Sonic rushed out the house wanting to see Eggman make an pratt of himself at the fake dig-site. But told the others he'd heard of a new chilli-dog café on the other side of the planet that did _to die for _foot-longs and he wasn't going to miss it.

Shadow had left after receiving an urgent E-Mail from G.U.N HQ, it seemed that Eggman had left his _buddy _Mephiles in charge of improving the Death Pods and now G.U.N were swamped all over Earth trying to destroy them. They had issued him with _Priority One Clearance_, this allowed him to use the Chaos Emeralds in the Treasury to tele-port and provide back-up. Once the gems were in his hands, Shadow used the Red Emerald to go to the house and handed Uncle Chuck the Yellow jewel as he requested. The black hedgehog promised that he would be back to help take down _Doomsday_ as soon as he could.

Rouge was the black sheep ( or should that be _**black bat **_?) She had gone to HQ with Shadow to give her up-dated report. When she returned, carrying a holdall and sleeping bag, she surprised everyone ( herself mostly) by volunteering to help Knuckles keep watch over The Master Emerald. As the days rolled by, the two treasure hunters worked out and trained till the sun started to set, and according to the echidna, Rouge got so engrossed with the chores that she lost some of her tartness and he found her a lot easier to get along with.

Chuck, Amy and Tails devided their time between _The Leopard Diamond_, and finding a way into Eggman's Doomsday Machine undetected. Tails was puzzled by the white flecks embedded in the stone that gave it its name and spent countless hours hunched over the scope, trying to figure its secret out with Carla's aid. Chuck and Amy poured over countless photocopied blue-prints, each one covered in red ink as their ideas of a surprise attack came to dead-ends. One night while Amy was busy fixing the trio a light dinner, the elderly hedgehog sat at the big table chewing the end of his red pen in thought. Chuck looked at the base of the tower and spotted a crude drawing of a fuel tanker. He clicked his fingers with a grin, another plan already cooking in his brain and got scribbling at once.

Time went by quickly for all of them, and before they knew it, it was just over 26 hours before the attack. Amy found herself leaning against the fence over-looking the sea. She sighed deeply and sat down crossed-legged on the warm dirt, soaking up the last rays of the sun. She faintly heard footfalls behind her and didn't flinch when someone else took a seat next to her. Her nose caught the slightest whiff of Christmas Spices and she smiled softly.

" Scared ?" She whispered.

"Nope. You?"

" I'd be lying if I said_ no_."

" You don't have to be, Amy. I'll protect you, you know I will."

"Really?"

A nod. " Yeah. Hedgehog's honour."

She kissed his cheek lightly, " Thanks, Sonic."

He grinned shyly, " You're welcome." He looked out to sea, the last rays warming his blue fur,making it look dark purple. " You know, we could do something to pass the time,"

"Li-like what?"

Sonic tapped his nose in thought," Hm... I know!" He got up and made a quick dash to the Jungle, when he returned, he was carrying a long stick and a small rock. Handing the rock to Amy, the blue hedgehog starting drawing an odd shape in the dirt. When he had finished, Amy blinked then smiled, testing the rocks' weight. " Right. Ready?"

" I didn't know you played!" She clapped her hands and hooted happily. "The great Sonic the Hedgehog plays Hopscotch! Tee-hee-hee!"

He blushed again, "Weell, baby-sitting Cream and Cheese does things to a bloke." He leaned forward and whispered, "Just don't tell anyone."

"Okay. Me first, then." She took her place at the start of the shape on the ground and threw the rock, it landed neatly on the number four. She hopped up to the end, turned and hopped back, picking up the stone and handed it to Sonic for his go. " You must land on an odd number _only_ ,since I landed on an even."

He cringed," Fine. Just don't laugh." He threw, missed the seven and landed on the eight. " Ah, nuts!"

_Well, I've roamed about this Earth_

_With just a suitcase in my hand,_

_And I've met some bog-eyed Joe's,_

_I've met the blessed, I've met the damned._

_But of all the strange, strange creatures_

_In the air, at sea, on land,_

_Oh, my girl, my girl, my precious girl,_

_I love you, you understand._

_So, reel me in, my precious girl,_

_Come on, take me home._

_'Cause my body's tired of travelling_

_And my heart don't wish to roam. No, no._

_  
_

She did laugh, and pretty hard too." OK,you must jump **backwards**."

"What!? You're joking, right?" She shook her head. "Aw. Here goes.." He managed to get up to the end backwards, but wobbled and fell onto his butt, causing Amy to laugh harder. He pouted at her for a second, then snorted and joined her in the giggle-fest.

_I have wandered, I have rambled_

_I have crossed this crowded sphere,_

_And I've seen a mass of problems_

_That I long to disappear._

_Now, all I have's this anguished heart,_

_For you have vanished too._

_Oh, my girl, my girl, my precious girl,_

_Just what is this man to do?_

_Yeah, reel me in, my precious girl,Come on, take me home._

_'Cause my body's tired of travelling_

_And my heart don't wish to roam.  
_

They took turns throwing and hopping, one time Amy had to jump on numbers with an **N **in them, then Sonic had to jump, making sure to touch the numbers with his hands too. The blue hedgehog looked up and found Amy grinning at him, he grinned back shyly and hopped back to the starting place.

_Well, you took me in, you stole my heart,_

_I cannot roam no more._

_Because love, it stays within you,_

_It does not wash up on a shore._

_But a fighting man forgets each cut_

_Each knock, each bruise, each fall,_

_But a fighting man cannot forget_

_Why his love don't roam no more._

_Oh, reel me in, my precious girl,_

_Come on, take me home._

_'Cause my body's tired of travelling_

_And my heart don't wish to roam._

_  
_

The light grew faint and they called time on their game. Amy sat crossed legged once more and rubbed her arms from the chill. Sonic sat next to her, looking behind them and waving as Rouge and Knuckles floated to the ground from The Floating Island for the meeting. Ten minutes later, a bright, green light flashed a few feet away and Shadow emerged. ( Slightly bloodied and bruised.) By his side was a G.U.N officer. He nodded a curt hello to the other two hedgehogs before the two of them entered the house, with Shadow limping every other step.

_Yeah, walk with me, my love, my love,_

_Walk tall, walk proud, walk far,_

_For you know my love, you are, you are,_

_You are my shining star._

They sat there in silence, until Uncle Chuck called them from the house telling them it was time. Sonic held Amy's hand all the back in doors, for reasons only known to himself and he was going to keep it that way.

_Walk with me, oh my love,_

_Walk tall, walk proud, walk far._

_For you know my love, you are, you are,_

_You are my shining star, you are, you are._

_Reel me in, my precious girl,_

_Come on, take me home._

_'Cause my body's tired of travelling_

_And my heart don't wish to roam._

----------------------------------------

**Doomsday Machine-- Badlands. ( A place you **really** don't want to go, trust me.)**

In the metal stomach of the most terrible creation made by Dr Eggman, the door leading to the main control room swished open. The Doctor stormed up to his chair, grabbed the back of it and turned it around. Phillips, who was seated in the cushions, let out a ear-splitting squeal and borrowed into the rest of the chair.

Eggman lifted him up by the lapels of his jacket and snarled, " You made a fool out of me.."

" S-Sir?"

" I found the dig-site, Mephiles, just as you said it would be, but the gem wasn't you know why?"

Mephiles swallowed," I -I have a feeling you're going to tell me, Sir."

Dark glasses glinted," The hedgehog got there before me! He led my robots on a wild goose chase around Earths' cat-box, to the hot geysers near the volcano Fittaburst." He took calming breaths," With the gem in his hand, he laughed and threw it into a geyser, it disintegrated at impact." His brows furrowed, " The Leopard is useless to me now, and so.. Are you..."

" I--What !?" Eggman released him, he fell onto his butt on the hard floor. Trembling, Mephiles got up onto his knees, clasped his hands together and begged for another chance." But Sir, 57 percent of the planet is over-run with Death Pods ! Within 24 hours the planet will be ours and we can build our empire, we'll be supreme rulers!" Sweat beaded on his temples, " We had a deal!"

Eggman clicked his fingers, two new robots marched out. They were big, black and chunky, had dome-shaped heads with a thin red visor. "Meet my new army, Mephiles. I call these babies--**Swat-bots**,and they follow my orders to the letter. Take him away! Room twelve...YES! Bring him to room twelve at once!"

" **We obey**." The two **Swat-bots **grabbed Mephiles by the arms and dragged him along the corridors, kicking and screaming. They shoved him into a glass tube of some sort and stepped back to wait for their Master.

Eggman stood at a small console, he grinned at the struggling man. " Any last words, Matt ?"

" You can't do this! We had a deal!" He pounded on the glass, " We had a deal!"

" We did, and I told you at the very beginning, you'd get what was coming to you." He pulled a lever and chuckled as Mephiles screamed, disappearing in a shower a pure yellow energy. The whole room was bathed in the same glow for a few minutes, then the machine died down and Eggman stepped forward. " Reading?"

A worker-bot opened the door and did a quick scan, " **100 percent, Doctor**."

" Ah... Eggscellent !"

He flicked a switch and an image of worker-bots crowded around a wicked looking Battle-Suit made him smiled proudly. The repairs were coming along nicely, Sonic had ruined the prototype Suit in a previous fight, but now.... _Isn't Diamondius a wonderful thing?_ He thought, chuckling and walked to a large window, over-looking his Doomsday Machine. He grinned as the pipes that carried the Death Pods slammed into the Earths' crust and sent his creations all over the world.

" Yes..Within 24 hours this world will be mine! And not even you--Sonic the Hedgehog, will be able to stop me! Mwah-ha-haa-haaa!"

* * *

**Next soon!**

**Dr Eggman vs Sonic the Hedgehog ! Who will win?**

**Please R and R**

**If song was a stinker, sorry.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ho-hum. Another chapter.**

**Ya know, I might stop after this fic. Maybe start again in the New Year.**

**Any way. Chapter 6 up!**

* * *

Chapter 6 .

**D-DAY..... ( Badlands.)**

The air around the giant tower was thick with smog, it was too thick to walk through, let alone fly, but at this moment, seated in the pilots' seat of _The Hyper Tornado_, Sir Charles Hedgehog was following other hover-crafts making their way to service the Doomsday Machine.

Now the reason that he was safe and not being fired at, was that one of the features of _The Hyper Tornado_was it Camouflage Mode. With a flick of a switch,Chuck transformed the silver plane into a dirty hover unit and was deep behind enemy lines.

" OK..Here goes.." He broke formation and headed upwards, using the stolen blue-prints, he quickly located the main sensor array. He brought the craft to a stop and pushed another button. " Carla, you're up."

" _Primary sensor located_." A thin rod shot out for the crafts' underbelly and attached itself to the thick cable at the base of the dish. "_ Sending scrambler programme in 3..2..1..._" The rod glowed pink as the file was transferred, the dish whined before dropping off. " _File up-loading complete, Unc. All set for stage two_."

Chuck breathed a sigh of relief. " OK, good job, Carla. Sending you to Sonic's com-link, help him as much as you can."

" _You can count on me_."

He looked out the window and saw the fence fizz and sparkle as it shorted out, he nodded, put on his headset and tapped the mic. " This is Hawk. Primary defences are down, you have a green for ground base attack."

In the distance, Chuck could make out a large black shape hurrying over the gritty landscape. Shadow, Rouge and what ever G.U.N troops could be spared were racing forward to provide cover for the second group. Chuck gripped the planes' controls and journeyed back down to re-join the others hover-crafts. Once they were clear of the main gates and a fair amount away from the tower itself, he switched the plane back to its silver form, engaged the warp engines and hurried to wait at the secret rendezvous. ( In case the plan went pear-shaped, which he hoped it would not.)

_Good luck every one.._

----------------------------------------

While the commotion was happening by the front door, the other mobile units belonging to Eggman made their way through the gates and round the back of the tower. The three tanker trucks pulled up to the loading bays and stopped , waiting to deliver the latest batch of toxic ooze.

Under the belly of the third, a small figure unhooked himself and jumped gracefully to the floor. Sonic ducked out of sight as _**Swat-bots **_marched along nearby, once the coast was clear, he gave a quick signal and three other figures dropped, quickly taking cover behind the many cables that littered the ground.

Tails, Amy and Knuckles hurried to Sonic's side and, using the cover of shadows ( plus Carla's help.) located the weakest point on the towers' base. Knuckles reached into his backpack, pulled out his yellow fighting gloves and strapped them in place. With a grunt, the mighty guardian struck and left a gaping hole, just big enough for them to squeeze through. Once inside, the foursome found themselves in the very heart of _The Doomsday Machine._Standing on an over-head walk-way, they watched in horror as Pod after Pod was assembled, loaded with ooze and put on a conveyor belt leading to the pipe area, where they would be unleashed and free to terrorize the whole planet.

Sonic shook his head, " This has to stop. Now!" His wrist device came on-line. " Caz, you have a plan?"

Carla bleeped."_ Yes,Uncle Sonic. I believe if we shut down the main control room, we can stop this_."

The hedgehog grinned at his wrist, " Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

" Now's _not_ the time." said Amy, checking Tails' backpack for the explosives they brought with them. " OK, we have 16 bombs between us. That should be enough, right?"

" Should be. I mean, Eggman's smart, don't get me wrong, but he always has the crappiest of defences." Knuckles flexed his arms and nodded," Well, where's the control room, then?"

Carla booted up the map of the base. "_Level 6. It's jelly and jam time,right,Unc_?"

Sonic chuckled," It's _juice_ and jam, Caz. You were close."

Holding his wrist at eye level, Sonic led the way into the belly of the metal beast, with Amy not too far behind,she was closely followed by Knuckles. Tails was last and kept looking at the Pods as they were launched, he didn't like this place and as the group made their way to the control room, with out bumping into any guards, his uneasiness grew.

-------------------------

**Outside......**

Shadow grunted and fell to his knees, he was saved by gun fire from one of the few soldiers still able to fight. The robots attacking weren't anything they'd encounter before, they were big and black ,with the small red visors. Already G.U.N had lost many to the never-ending forces of Eggman. The black hedgehog swiped his nose free from blood, nodded his thanks to the officer who saved him and geared himself up to fight again.

To his left , Rouge suddenly let out a scream as a _**Swat-bot **_caught her in mid- Screw Kick. The bat was thrown towards the base of the tower at devastating force, Shadow pulled out the Red Emerald from his quills in an attempt to use Chaos Control but lost the gem to a _**Swat-bot**_. The robot kicked at his bloodied hand, hard, causing the gem to skittle into the jungle of wires. Shadow looked around, the other _**Swat-bots **_were already hauling their new prisoners to their feet. Rogue was held lifelessly by the back of her bodysuit, a thin trail of blood trickled from the back of her head. The robots parted and a navy _**Swat-bot **_appeared, it marched up to the fallen Shadow, raised its arm and a small cannon shot out. Shadow gingerly got to his feet, ready for a fight, only to get caught in a blast of dizzy making sound waves. The hedgehog staggered around for a second before his eyes lost focus and he fell face-first.

As the mist died down , Eggman calmly made his way to the front, the _**Swat-bots **_bowed and parted. The Doctor surveyed the damage and clicked his fingers. The group of robots marched back into the tower carrying new subjects for his new toy. Eggman lifted a small triquater and grinned at the readings.

_Time to change out of these clothes and into something more.....appropriate_. He turned, entered the tower and got ready. This time he had Sonic right in the palm of his hand, his very sharp and _metallic _hand, that is.

----------------------------------------

**Doomsday Machine---Main Control Room.**

Tails, Amy, Sonic and Knuckles planted the small bombs on the protective casing over the_ brain _of the machine. It was so thick that even Knuckles couldn't smash it with his mighty punches, Sonic had tried and failed to saw through it and Amy's hammer attacks didn't leave a dent.

The little fox quickly set the timer for two minutes, he gave a signal and the rest fell back and ducked down behind any desks that were available. Knuckles screwed up his face and Sonic got ready to guard Amy from flying debris. With shaky fingers, Tails listened to his little girl as she counted down.

"..._ Seven, six, five, four_..."

"It's gonna be big," warned Sonic, holding more tightly to Amy's shoulders, " Brace yourselves !"

"...._Three, two ,one_...."

"Here goes!" Tails hit the button.

Carla beeped once, " _**Heat's on! **_"

The resulting explosion rocked the level from its foundations, the friends were knocked off their feet. The computer terminals lining the walls shattered and flew over them, showering them with hot metal shards. Knuckles bit down on his lower lip as the noise hurt his ears, Amy whimpered and clung to Sonic for all she was worth. Sonic looked over at his foxy buddy when the dust died down, Tails looked back with uncertainess and poked his head above the desk top.

"Uh, guys?"

Once he'd helped Amy to her feet, Sonic held her hand, and together, they hurried to join Tails and Knuckles. The hedgehog stared ahead and his mouth dropped opened.

"No friggin' way... This can't be..."

The dome was untouched. It looked as pristine as ever. A buzzing filled the small space and soon after, a fuzzy holographic projection of Eggman floated in front of them. With a grin, he gave them a mocking bow.

" **_Ah, my friends _!**"

"We're no friends of yours Egg-face."

Eggman giggled, " **_Such mighty words for such a little rodent. But I've won_ _this time, Sonic_. _Behold_!**" Another image flickered to life, it showed the prison cells , one by one were full of G.U.N end one just had two inside-- Shadow was sitting, his wrist and ankles shackled by glowing blue bands. Beside him, was Rouge. The bat was lying on the stone floor, facing away from them and giving them a clear view of the nasty-looking cut on the back of her head covered with dried blood. " **_Don't think about pulling any rescues, rodent. Otherwise... KA--BOOM!! I propose, a trade....._**"

A very tense discussion later saw Tails, Amy and Knuckles board a Pod. Tails used his big brain to re-programme the Pods flight controls so that it came out near the rendezvous point.A few minutes later, Sonic made his way to the lower levels , he came to a large door that opened as he approached, stepping through, the doors shut firmly with a _click_. He was on his own, making his way to the middle of the room, Sonic came to a stop and folded his arms.

"Yo, Doc? You in-- _**UGHH! **_" A large _something_ came out of the shadows and caught him in the chest, sending him flying through the air, smacking into the pillars. Sonic slid to a stop and groaning, got onto his knees. " Uh, cheap shot." He mumbled, wiping his chest free of dust.

A thin blue visor appeared at the other end of the room. "_**Now, rodent. Our last game ends here! **_"

Sonic got to his feet slowly, using the remains of the pillar for support. He squinted in the dim light and could just make out the lumbering shape as it travelled across the floor.

He smirked, " So you fixed it ,then? Doesn't matter,Doc, I'll still beat you." Ducking behind the broken pillars, he edged his way forward, careful not to get caught in the Battle-Suits' spotlights.

"_** Come out and face me, boy ! **_" Eggman lifted his hands, fireballs shot from his palms and lit up the area that Sonic had just vacated. "_**Y****ou'll run out of pillars soon .You can't hide forever. I'll find you, and when I do--ARGH!!**_ " He staggered backwards from Sonic's haste homing attack.

The hedgehog made a dodgy landing and grabbed his hurting foot, " Bloody hell !" He screamed, hopping all over the place." What the heck is that thing made from? Bricks !?"

" _**My nose ! You've dented my perfect nose! Ooh, now I'm ticked off ! **_" A round of rockets fired from the Suits' shoulder pads, primed to take out the hedgehog.

Sonic spin-dashed out the way to avoid getting burned. He ran up the wall, using the rockets as stepping stones before they smashed the wall apart, readying himself for another attack, but Eggman was ready. The Doctor pulled back his arm and _SMACK!_ Sonic found himself, yet again, soaring across the room, hitting the wall opposite, making a nice hedgehog shape hole.

" _**You cannot win , rodent. This armor has been improved to out- match you in every way possible. The only reason you can take so much punishment is because of all the magic rings, you've gathered over the years, have given you that little bit a protection. **_" He bent over the fallen hedgehog, his smirking face clearly visible through the visor. "_** It's over, Sonic. You cannot beat me this time. We've reached your limit.**_" He raised his hands once more.

Sonic stood, coughing and spluttering, _Limit? LIMIT !? _As Eggman fired, Sonic vanished from view in a smoke cloud.

"_** Nobody can move that fast! Where are you, boy!? **_" Eggman bellowed.

" **LIMIT** !? " Cried Sonic from the far side of the chamber. He got down into a starting position and revved up, hitting his top-most speed, his legs turned into a perfect figure of eight beneath him. " I got your effing _limit _right here!" There came a squeal of tires and Sonic shot off at high velocity, he came screaming towards Eggman in a brilliant blue blur.

The Doctor planted his feet firmly into the stone floor to steady himself. "_** Oh, my....**_"

Sonic hit **The Egg Beater** square in the chest plate. The Doctor and hedgehog were thrown apart from the impact. Sonic rolled onto his side to survey the damage and grinned weakly as he spotted the hunk of metal sparking at the joints.

" H-How's that for my limit, Robotnik?" He managed, before finally collapsing.

The dust settled and Eggman stood in his suit, still in one piece. Sonic's attack had only dented the breast section. He looked down at the unconscious mammal, he bent and scooped Sonic up with one hand. Holding the blue hero by one foot, Eggman stumbled out of the chamber.

He smirked. "_** Not bad, Sonic. Now it's my turn. **_"

------------------------------------------------

It seemed like an age had past when Sonic woke up. With aching limbs, Sonic struggled to his feet, he got to his knees and pressed his bloodied hands against smooth surface of.. _glass_? He blinked, running his fingers down and then thumped hard. The hollow_ bong _echoed in the room, the hedgehog paled and frantically looked for a way out.

_This can __**not**__ be good_, He thought, rubbing his sore head. _I remember.... There was a big fight, and Eggman ..._ The door creaked opened and pale light came through. Sonic frowned slightly, _Speak of the devil._

" Ah, you're still alive." Eggman tapped the glass tube," How's that thick head of yours, rodent?"

He grinned," Why don't ya let me out and I can show you, fatty." Sonic pressed his palms harder on the glass. "Where am I?"

The mad man giggled," Oh, Sonic....I'm afraid that our little game has come to an end. There's no way you can escape this time, for you see, that glass tube has been impregnated with _Diamondius,_making it the hardest substance to man-kind." He walked over to the console and powered up the machine.

" You haven't won anything, Doc. I'll get out and I'll stop you!"

" Correction. No you won't. Do you why? In this long-winded game that we've played for years now, there are winners and there are losers. Most of the time it has been me in the loser corner, but not today, for you see,_ hedgehog_, this is my new Robotizier and losers in this game...." He chuckled softly, hand hovering above the main switch and looked Sonic square in the eyes." Get Robotizied!"

As he slammed the switch home, Sonic's eyes widened. With a gasp, the hedgehog looked up and spied the tell-tale sign of yellow light. He hammered on the tubes' surface.

"_**Nnnooo**_!"

Eggman giggled with glee.

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**Oh no!**

**Next soon, promise....Oh, wait...It's nearly Christmas!**

**See you when I see you. Mazz84 xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm totally in love with Sonic the Were-hog. He's **_SO_** cute !**

**Enjoy, peeps.**

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Chapter 7. 

Sonic was blinded by the yellow light, that he was sure was spelling out his doom. He found himself forced to his knees by the sheer heat of the beam.

" Uuggh--naah ! Aarrghh--aahh!"

His hands slipped on the tubes' surface. Eggman was standing a few feet away, wearing an impatient expression. The Doctor checked the readings of his beloved creation with a slight frown.

"What's taking so long? Full power!" He turned a knob all the way round, the beam grew wider and more yellow, completely covering the helpless hedgehog. " Ooh--ho--hoo ! I've waited forever for this. You're mine now, Sonic!"

Sonic reached into his pack and frantically rooted around for anything that could help. He heard from Uncle Chuck that the other Sonic, from Chuck's home-- Mobius, used a power-ring to escape. But did our Sonic find one ? No, he didn't.

He pulled out a yellow gem, the size of his palm and his green eyes narrowed. A Chaos Emerald? The hedgehog groaned out loud, how was a stupid Emerald gonna help? Turning the gem in his hand, he watched as it blinked like a beacon and a small light bulb blinked on in his head. He could use Chaos Control to get out and really make a mess of things. Sonic struggled to his feet, the energy of Eggman's machine bearing down on him like a thousand hot knives. He gripped the gem tightly in his fist and screamed at the top of his lungs,

" **Chaos... Control !! **"

" Wha? " Eggman looked up from the control panel and his face turned purple. " No, you don't dare!? This is my victory. Mine!"

" Catch ya on the flip side, Doc." He winked as Chaos Control took effect. The full power of the Chaos Emerald mixed with that from the machine, and caused the main circuits to blow. Sonic's body tingled as the room lit up, he vanished in a ball of gold, the shock wave from the gem rocked the structure to its core. Glass shattered, walls trembled and Eggman screamed with fury as his prized machine was ruined beyond repair.

" Aarrgghhh! HEDGEHOG !! "

-----------------------

**Rendezvous Point......**

Chuck and Tails were kneeling in the warm sands, going over the new blueprints of the inner Pod bay. The older hedgehog rubbed his chin, then he sighed.

" Hmm, could be a problem. We don't know how big the blast will be. It might be hard getting Shadow and the others out in time."

Tails looked up from the papers, "We have to try, Chuck. At least---AH!"

A golden comet screamed its way across the sands, spraying them and Knuckles--who was resting under a palm tree. It came to a stop in front of them and Sonic gave them a shaky smile, before falling flat on his face.

"He doesn't look good, Charles," Knuckles helped the fallen hero to his feet and dragged him over to where the plane was parked. Tails quickly took a blanket from the boot and placed in on the ground, then helped lay Sonic onto it. Knuckles slipped the tattered pack from Sonic's shoulders and winced at the bruising on his arms and legs. "What the heck happened?"

"Where is he!? Is he gonna be alright?" Amy came tearing around the side of the plane, little green box under her arm. She spotted the still form of Sonic, her bottom lip quivered. " He looks bad..."

" He needs you to be strong for him now." Chuck took the box from her. " I need time to examine him." The others nodded and moved away to give the elderly hedgehog the time and space he needed to save his nephew.

A long time passed, and Chuck found the others huddled around a small took off his glasses and cleaned them on the sleeve of his shirt. He placed them back on his nose and took a deep breath.

" Chuck?"

" I'm afraid it's bad news. Without taking him to a proper Hospital, I can only assume Sonny's injuries. He's taken quite a bashing, arms and legs- major bruising, a slight concussion, judging by the purple on his chest, I think a couple of ribs are cracked and there's a high risk of internal bleeding."

In the shadows, Sonic was listening to his Unc's every word. He took a sharp intake of breath and hissed softly as pain shocked his body, yep, ribs cracked. A soft breeze drifted through the sands, catching a piece of paper. Sonic held it in his hand and quickly read it, it was part of Tails' research of _The Leopard Diamond_. His hand started shaking,

" So.. That's it...That's why it can be used for good or evil."

"Where would Eggman hide his part of _The Leopard _? " Tails rubbed his temples in thought.

Knuckles paced, " Must be somewhere he thinks is safe... But where? Eggman's got lots of Bases on this planet..."

A blue ear twitched. While the others were aruging amongst themsleves, Sonic hobbled to the cooling compartment of the . After typing a few commands, the tray slid out revealing one half of the black stone. _So.. The white flecks are the gems DNA? _He turned it over in his hand, _And depending on the users heart, it can be used for good or evil?_ The hedgehog took a breath before taking the gem and sliding it into his backpack, along with five power-rings.

There was one place Sonic could think of, where Eggman had tight security. His newest Base to date: **Eggtopia.**

"Don't go." Came a soft voice behind him.

Sonic turned and found Amy standing a few feet away. He looked down, unable to face her. " I have to."

She stepped forward, he stepped back, the look in his eyes told her he was ready to bolt at any moment.

" Why is it always you?"

" Because it's the way it's always been. It always comes down to me and Eggman, right from the very beginning. I'm the only one who can take him down." He looked up, finally, green eyes twinkling in the dim light, his bruised face masked the anger he felt deep down. " I have to do this, please Amy.... Let me go."

A mixture of emotions flickered in Amy's eyes. She blinked in understanding and then nodded. " Go get 'im, Blue."

He gave her a sad smile and a one last look at his friends and family, Sonic painfully revved up and shot off down the beach, heading back towards the city.

------------------------------------

The blue hero made quick work of any robot's that were stupid enough to get in his way, quietly thanking Eggman for getting all his work-force at the Doomsday device. He broke into Eggman's private office, hand quickly covering his mouth as his gag reflex kick in. Sonic scanned the enclosed area, scratching his head and wincing upon finding a small bump at the back.

_If I were a priceless gem, where would I hide?_ He sat in the over-sized chair while he thought hard- granted, something he didn't do very often, but sometimes one _had to _think it through.

Green eyes travelled the walls, most were bare, but one was not. On it was a very ugly portrait of the madman in one of his silly poses. Sonic's lips curved into a tiny grin, he got up, walked over to the picture and, copying Uncle Chuck's actions from Soleanna, carefully put his fingers behind the frame. He felt the smallest of gaps, and with great care, pulled the frame open revealing a glass safe.

Inside, seated on a red cushion, the other half of _The Leopard_ glinted in the dim light.

Sonic's heart pounded in his chest ,he pulled back an arm, gritted his teeth and lashed out. On impact, the glass shattered and the jewel rose from it's place, blinking like a beacon and landed safely into Sonic's waiting hand.

_Can't risk putting it together here. Besides...._He turned and headed out of the room._. I wanna see Egg-face's face when I play my Ace card._ and made a hasty exit, ticking off his supply list in his head, _OK, fast feet? Check. Two black gemstones? Check. Five rings-- One for the stone and four for me? Check._ He looked up and spotted a camera trained on his every move, he smiled smugly at it. _One very ticked off Doctor? _Loud alarms sounded from somewhere deep in the complex and he laughed, _Make that a Check._He sped out of the deserted Base and headed back towards The Badlands. This was it, either he was gonna stop Eggman once and for all, or die trying.

He ran fast, his breath coming in short pants. Sonic came to a stop on a ledge over-looking The Doomsday Machine and frowned. Coming out of the main gates were Eggman's troops, his _**Swat-bot **_army, their hulky feet shook the ground they marched on, and the red visors flared when they picked up his heat signature. Sonic sized up the situation, chewing on the insides of his cheeks.

_Hope I live through this.._ Reaching into his backpack, he took out the five power-rings and clipped two on his wrists, two on his ankles and placed the spare on the ground. He took out the broken jewel and was amazed at the great magnetic pull it had, his arms shook with the sheer might of not putting it together. _OK. Here goes..._ Slowly, very slowly ,he brought the two halves closer. The gem grew hot in his hands and he cried out, releasing it and staggered back. Thinking fast, Sonic grabbed the spare ring and threw into the white fire as _The Leopard _became whole once more.

He was knocked back as the fire mushroomed out and the air was filled with a big bang. When the light had died down, the hedgehog stood with determined eyes and reached out a hand. But then something really, frigging odd happened, thins beams of lilac light came out of the stone and stuck him right in the eyes. Sonic grunted as sharp pains made his whole body convulse.

" Naah....Rraghh--aahh ! "

The rings on his ankles and wrists did their best to counter the jewels' lust for destruction, they glowed brightly to help keep it at bay. Sonic found himself on his knees once again, he pounded the dirt, fingers digging and making mini trenches with his nails. His head quills curled upwards, on the tips sprouted white spots. All over his body the flecks appeared, some small and some big.

" Uuughh--huh...Mmhhmm..."

A dark fog, nightmare-ish purple in colour, surrounded him. Sonic threw his head back and screamed, revealing a new set of dentures complete with long canines. The light vanished and Sonic was left sprawled, spread-eagle on his stomach. The now worthless diamond clattered to the ground. Sonic grunted and weakly got to his knees, he rubbed his head and held the gem at eye level, then blinked in shock.

His eyes were pure white, no green or red pupils. Just pure...white. He stepped back in horror and dropped the gemstone, which shattered . He gave himself a quick look-over, felt his curved quills and flicked his tongue over his cat-like teeth, he spotted the white markings on his limbs.

" What the heck's going on !?"

_**" Priority one hedgehog. You are now prisoner of Doctor Eggman. Come quietly or I will use force."**_

Sonic chuckled clamly, "Oh, I don't think so..." He said in a child-like voice. Quick as a flash, he turned and plunged his hand into the workings of the robot. The robot whined, almost in pain as sparks showered the dark hedgehog. Sonic withdrew his hand, clenching the wires and smiled at the hundreds more waiting to take him out. He cackled madly at the pathetic sight. " You think you can stop me !? "

Clenching his fists, a shimmering blue protective shield surrounded him and lifted him a few feet above the ground. An invisible wind made his quills dance and chilled him to the point near freezing. With a sonic-boom and an unhinged laugh, Sonic's opposite super form-- Dark Super Sonic-- screamed towards The Doomsday Machine, scattering the many _**Swat-bots**_ like metal bowling pins.

-------------

Inside his Control Room ,Eggman frantically darted from panel to panel, desperately turning knobs and flicking switches as the blue orb that was Dark Sonic hurtled closer.

"Activate shields ! Do it, do it-- ARGH !!" The entire tower shook as Dark Sonic crashed through the ground floor. Eggman grabbed the back of his chair for dear life, whimpering as the recurring rhythm started. First a big boom, then uncontrollable shaking finishing with loose debris falling from the top-most floor. " Do something! _Anything _!"

Mephiles, from his station, stared blankly at him for a second, then checked his screen. He suddenly bleeped loudly in alarm, jumped from his seat and made a mad dash for the exit, carrying a briefcase and putting on a hat. "_You're on your own, Doctor_."

"Get back here! You traitor, y--you _coward _!" Eggman screamed with fury, then squeaked in alarm. The floor burst open and Dark Sonic exploded out of the hole to hover in mid-air inches from him. " You little...."

The purple hedgehog grinned at him, lips curling back to show his new fangs. His eyes closed to milky slits , he curled up into a ball then unleashed an Earth-shattering _**Chaos Blast**_, with an echoing " Huh!" His eyes came blazing to life, the same beams that had penetrated him formed one large snake thing, it crashed through all the floors, into the Pod bays, deep into the planets' crust disintegrating the miles of pipes into gleaming ashes. " It ends....NOW!!"

" No,wait. P--please, Sonic...."

Dark Sonic shouted, a light erupted from his chest, it spread up and out, covering the tower completely. There came a thunderous rumble and then....

It vanished. Gone without a trace. The only thing left was the small group of G.U.N officers staggering across the waste-land. Leading the group, Shadow carried Rouge in his arms, his face grim.

-------------------------

**Somewhere very far from home.....**

Sonic woke to find himself on a sandy beach. He blinked, then slowly sat up, rubbing the back of his head. He looked around and jumped in surprise upon finding an old man staring at him.

The man gave him a tooth-less smile, " Knew you'd come."

" Uuhh....."

The man sat next to him, " I am Ingus, Keeper of _The Leopard_. The tale of my death was a lie to protect myself for this day." He shoved the end of his walking stick into Sonic's face, " You have no use for it now, however, it still has a use to me."

Sonic screwed up his face in confusion, patting himself down, he reached into his ripped glove and pulled out a small black shard, having no clue how it got there, he extended a hand and gave the last remnant of the diamond to the old boy.

Ingus giggled with joy and fixed the gem to the top of his cane. Once finished, he turned to the hero, " More questions you have."

"Yeah... What happened? All I remember is standing outside Eggman's Doomsday Tower, then a blur."

" Aaahh.. Used the jewels' power you did. The final attack on Doomsday was a success. The tower was destroyed, you and Doctor were transported to different points on the planet."

" So..I won ?"

" Yes." Ingus pointed behind them," Doctor is that way." Sonic craned his neck, he could make out the beginnings of a vast amount of grassland, that gave way to a dense forest, and the blurry shapes of big mountains past it. He stood to shake off the sand from his legs when Ingus held his hand. " Remember this ,hero... Across the sea, a faint wind blows carrying the scent of the sweetest _rose_... "

Sonic looked down the beach and sighed deeply, he smiled catching the faint whiff of a very familiar perfume. _The way home_, he thought happily. He turned to thank the old man, only to find no trace of him. The blue dude with the 'tude shrugged, revved up and took off at a steady pace, heading to the grass land.

Entering the meadows, Sonic grabbed a bunch of wild flowers and held them to his nose, closing his eyes, sniffing their pretty scents. He bent forward and increased his speed ready to zig-zag through the big trees coming up.

Exiting the forest, he began to climb a steep hill. Sonic grinned, watching the grey ground under his feet quickly giving way to the drop coming up. Pushing himself to his limit and with a , " Whoo--hoo !!" He jumped and dissapeared, off to find his next adventure.

-----------------------------

**Somewhere else......**

Eggman sat in the dirt, elbows resting on his knees. He pouted, sniffed loudly then began bawling like a baby. Rolling onto his stomach, he thumped the ground with his fists, wailing at the top of his lungs,

" I h-hate th-that hedgehog ! Wah-ha-haaa !!"

**Fin.**

* * *

**Bad ending, I know.**

**All reviews are welcome.**

**See you in the New Year, Mazz84 XX.**


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